11.06.08
Microsoft’s Last Breath: BAD (Bribing, Addicting, Dumping)
“[Microsoft] have the deepest of pockets, unlimited ambition, and they are willing to lose money for years and years just to make sure that you don’t make any money, either. And they are mean, REALLY mean.”
–Robert X. Cringely
SHAMELESS tricks are back again, so below we offer just a quick overview with appropriate links.
Paying One’s Way to Polluting the Web
It’s one thing when Microsoft spreads its DRM and binaries using airlines, football tournaments and the Olympic games [1, 2]. It is much worse when this competition-hostile technology reaches the public sector. The Library of Congress, which is a public institute, received millions of dollars in ‘incentives’ to lock public assets into Microsoft [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] and it could get even worse. What would taxpayers have to say?
According to Adobe, those millions of dollars handed over to a public library by Microsoft are not the exception. Adobe’s CEO is now accusing Microsoft of simply buying market share, just as it’s trying to do with Yahoo. it’s trying to starve the competition to make itself the only option and thus a de facto standard.
Shantanu Narayen says Microsoft is ‘opening its chequebook’ in a failed attempt to get companies to move from Flash to its own Silverlight player
At the moment, under the disguise which is charity (yes, that kind), Bill Gates is also boasting ‘free’ (gratis) tools that enable Microsoft to poison the World Wide Web with Silverlight, using the help of young people to whom this is marketed, almost fed.
Addiction Now, Rehabilitation Later
We already know that Microsoft is ‘bribing’ journalists, bloggers, and analysts in exchange for positive publicity [1, 2] and even offering $15,000 for Mac bloggers to slam Apple.
A couple of days ago we also covered Microsoft's latest mischief in Korea (paying them to discourage the spread of Free software). Microsoft brings similar tactics to small and poor businesses now, trying to have them dependent on Microsoft while they are still young. Luckily, some reporters were not naive enough for Microsoft (and even Port 25) to fool. Here are some examples of coverage:
1. Microsoft’s Biz Spark is Another Direct Shot at Open Source
2. A ‘First One’s Free’ Strategy To Lure Startups
3. Microsoft’s Answer to The Open Source Threat
The introduction of BizSpark clearly indicates that Microsoft wants start-ups to defer from using open source software such as Linux.
4. Microsoft offers free software to start-ups
Microsoft has slashed the cost for internet and technology start-ups to use its software and servers in an attempt to attract the latest generation of programmers away from Open Source rivals like Linux.
The BBC, quite unsurprisingly perhaps (see [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15] for some history), advertised this thing rather than warn about the dangers. It described it as some sort of charity, as opposed to an attack on Free(dom) software. Glyn Moody wasn’t entirely happy, to say the very least.
Why is the BBC Running Microsoft Ads?
[...]
But it’s obviously too much to expect a technology reporter in Silicon Valley to mention such trivia in the face of the *real* story about Microsoft’s perfervid altruism.
It is unfortunate to see the BBC devolving and descending from a status of “trust” to a apparatus of “spin” or “marketing”. Microsoft deserves much of the blame.█
Prison provides ‘free’ meals too, but you
don’t want to go there
twitter said,
November 6, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Businesses, schools and charity can not even trust discount rates to last the duration promised. M$ has demanded full rates from from many, including Australian Age Care Centers:
The systems were installed, so the centers were left facing a crash migration or big bills and cancelled projects, or legal pain and remote kill by M$.
The sooner you migrate to free software, the more you save. Things are only going to get uglier as M$’s traditional sales tumble
G. Michaels said,
November 7, 2008 at 2:57 am
As Roy likes to say, mind this ‘twitter’ person, and link follows:
http://slashdot.org/~SockDisclosure/journal/214377
Note: writer of this comment adds absolutely nothing but stalking and personal attacks against readers, as documented here.
Roy Schestowitz said,
November 7, 2008 at 2:59 am
‘G. Michaels’,
If you’re stalking and harassing readers without adding anything that’s on topic, you’ll have to be sent out. Your stalking has gone on for too long.
G. Michaels said,
November 7, 2008 at 3:28 am
@Roy –
First off, let’s not pretend that we’re talking about a ‘reader’ here, your collaboration with this person is well-documented and his Slashdot posting history is littered with his promotion of your website.
Second, I don’t consider warning people who extend you the courtesy of replying to your blog entries about the mysterious person whose job appears to be to insult them if they disagree with you (and his posts here support that fully) to be ‘stalking’ in any way.
Third, this is your blog, you can ban and banish anyone you wish to based on whatever criteria you find comforting, so instead of threatening people with being ‘sent out’, just go ahead and do it. Perhaps someone else will take the time to warn your actual readers of the nymshifters and trolls in their midst.
Call me crazy, but whenever someone says I’m “full of shit”, calls me an “idiotic liar” or asserts I work for “M$”, I’d generally like to know who is the internet tough guy behind the 20 personalities who is doing that. I see most people who post here to challenge or correct your posting at least use their real names and email addresses, as do I.
Note: writer of this comment adds absolutely nothing but stalking and personal attacks against readers, as documented here.
Roy Schestowitz said,
November 7, 2008 at 4:07 am
That’s exactly the type of off-topic divergence I was referring to. You clearly have some obsession with that “twitter” fella’, but you have nothing to contribute to the subject of this post. That’s all you ever do in this Web site.
stevetheFLY said,
November 7, 2008 at 9:31 am
Well, seeing how Roy reacts to a dose of his own medicine alone is worth all the off-topic-divergences in the world, innit? Go Michael!
Note: comment has been flagged for arriving from an incarnation of a known (eet), pseudonymous, forever-nymshifting, abusive Internet troll that posts from open proxies and relays around the world.
stevetheFLY said,
November 7, 2008 at 9:42 am
Wow; again I get these three red lines. Roy certainly has his own definitions of trolling, which pretty much is ‘everyone who disagrees with my conspiracy theorists and abusive texts and images’. Go Roy…
Note: comment has been flagged for arriving from an incarnation of a known (eet), pseudonymous, forever-nymshifting, abusive Internet troll that posts from open proxies and relays around the world.
twitter said,
November 7, 2008 at 11:24 am
Interesting, G. I mocked Alex Brown for calling Roy an idiot and a liar, and you took it as something aimed at yourself. Are you name shifting as you accuse me of the same?
As Roy has noticed, that’s all you do here, so I’m force to conclude that you are simply part of M$’s regular program of abuse.
I’ve explained my reasons for using more than one account on Slashdot before. For those who have not seen it, visit this 2004 journal entry, this one from 2005, the troll zoo. Roy does not approve, I can live with that.
pcolon said,
November 7, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Twitter’s post pointed to a legitimate Australian news site, it’s subject of which is the result’s of, and to do with what this site is about; “Exploring the reality behind exclusionary deals with Microsoft and their subtle (yet severe) implications”.
Roy Schestowitz said,
November 7, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I’m told that being trolled in one’s own site is a good news. First they ignored us…
pcolon said,
November 7, 2008 at 2:45 pm
They may have deep pockets, but it’s not a bottomless well.
G. Michaels said,
November 10, 2008 at 1:23 am
@twitter: Please don’t assume that everyone is as eager to scrape the bottom of the barrel as you are.
Note: writer of this comment adds absolutely nothing but stalking and personal attacks against readers, as documented here.